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ABSTRACT
Title of Document:
HISTORIC SCHOOLS IN WASHINGTON, D.C:
PRESERVING A RICH HERITAGE
Gabriela P. Harris
Master of Historic Preservation
Spring 2008
Directed By:
Professor Donald W. Linebaugh, PhD
Struggles for racial equality in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere have often taken place
in the public school arena, even after school segregation was abolished. Public schools
anchored their communities, turned children into citizens, acted as a social equalizer by
assimilating generations of immigrants, and ultimately integrated African Americans into full
membership in American society. Given how much public schools contributed to the
cohesiveness of the nation, and Washington, D.C. in particular, it is alarming to see how
neglected historic schools have become. This study is an attempt to raise awareness of the
rich history of these structures and to offer recommendations on how to deal with their use
and care so these irreplaceable resources can remain part of the communities they served.
Once historic resources are gone, they can never be replaced and too often the preservation of
important school buildings succumbs to short term goals and financial crises. More
consistent policies are required that recognize and respect the important heritage of
Washington, D.C.’s historic schools.
HISTORIC SCHOOLS IN WASHINGTON, D.C.:
PRESERVING A RICH HERITAGE
HISP 700 Final Project
By
Gabriela P. Harris
Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation
School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation
University of Maryland, College Park
in partial fulfillment of the degree of
Master of Historic Preservation
Spring 2008
Advisors:
Professor Donald W. Linebaugh, PhD
Professor Angel David Nieves, PhD
ii
© Copyright by
Gabriela P. Harris
2008
iii
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... iv
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. vi
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1
Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 6
Organization .......................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 1: Brief History of Public Schools in Washington, D.C. ............................................ 8
The Education of African American Children .................................................................... 12
Chapter 2: School Architecture in Washington, D.C. ............................................................. 14
Chapter 3: Surplus Schools: Adaptive and Public Reuse ....................................................... 28
Case Study Methodology .................................................................................................... 29
Adaptive Reuse of Public Schools By the Private Sector ................................................... 29
Surplus Schools Used By the Public Sector ....................................................................... 36
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 40
Chapter 4: Public Schools in Peril: Case Studies.................................................................... 42
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 53
Chapter 5: Current Disposition Procedures ............................................................................ 55
Current Facilities Master Plan ............................................................................................ 57
Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations ..................................................................... 60
Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 60
Appendices .............................................................................................................................. 63
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 64
iv
List of Figures
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Figure 5.
Figure 6.
The Franklin School, 1876. ...................................................................................... 3
Webster School. ........................................................................................................ 4
Old Lancasterian School........................................................................................... 9
Seaton School, 1876. .............................................................................................. 19
Old Jefferson School, 1876 .................................................................................... 19
The Wallach School, Seventh and D Streets SE, 1864 .......................................... 20
Figure 7. H.T. Blow School, a typical 8-room schoolhouse .................................................. 22
Figure 8. The Hearst School, 3950 37th Street, NW, 1931. ................................................... 26
Figure 9. The Carbery School. ............................................................................................... 30
Figure 10. Pierce School Condominiums. ............................................................................. 31
Figure 11. J.R. Giddings School, 1887 Wing. ....................................................................... 32
Figure 12. Giddings School, 1938 Colonial Revival addition. .............................................. 33
Figure 13. Lenox School Condominiums. ............................................................................. 34
Figure 14. The Madison School. ............................................................................................ 34
Figure 15. The Dent School. .................................................................................................. 35
Figure 16. The Franklin School. ............................................................................................ 36
Figure 17. The Sumner School Museum and Archives. ........................................................ 37
Figure 18. The Perry School. ................................................................................................. 39
Figure 19. Old Dunbar High School, 1925. ........................................................................... 40
Figure 20. The Bruce School. ................................................................................................ 42
Figure 21. The Hayes School. ................................................................................................ 44
Figure 22. Hayes School, Torch of Knowledge ..................................................................... 45
Figure 23. Hayes School, Open Book .................................................................................... 45
Figure 24. Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School................................................................... 47
Figure 25. Old Congress Heights School. .............................................................................. 49
Figure 26. Old Congress Heights School 1897 block ............................................................ 50
Figure 27. Armstrong School, detail of pediment.................................................................. 52
Figure 28. Samuel H. Armstrong School, c. 1910. ............................................................... 52
Figure 29. The Slater School, 1891. ...................................................................................... 54
Figure 30. The Langston School, 1902. ................................................................................. 54
Figure 31. Hine Junior High School, 1965. ............................................................................ 58
v
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr. Donald Linebaugh, Associate Professor and Director of the
Historic Preservation Program at the University of Maryland, College Park for his help with
this project and throughout the program. Dr. Linebaugh has been extremely generous with
his time and knowledge and a tireless advocate of good and crisp writing, wielding his blue
pen to help his students convey their ideas clearly and succinctly. Professor Nieves, whose
course taught me the research skills necessary for completing this project, nudged me to
considerer a wider scope for my study.
I could not have completed this program without the help of my family. My husband
stood by me ready to comfort me when things got tough. My parents, who were a bit
skeptical of my foray into self-improvement, were nevertheless extremely supportive and
loving.
And finally, I owe a great debt of gratitude to Mr. Hayden Wetzel, chief archivist at the
Sumner School Museum and Archives, who trusted me with his precious artifacts and helped
me find ever more interesting documents for my project.
vi
Introduction
Promote then, as an object of primary importance, institutions
for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the
structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is
essential that public opinion should be enlightened.
George Washington Farewell Address, 1796
In 2006, the Washington Post published an article about the disposition of the
Franklin School (Figure 1) at 13th and K streets northwest, which had become eligible to be
sold after being declared surplus city property.1 The article discusses at length the conflict
between then Mayor Anthony A. Williams, the D.C. Council, and the D.C. attorney general’s
office regarding the legal ramifications of selling the school to a developer. Nowhere in the
article is it mentioned that the Franklin School, a National Historic Landmark and 1869
masterpiece by the architect Adolf Cluss, was once the finest school in the city, a showcase
for the capital of a reunited nation. This is how a contemporary described the Franklin
School:
―The Franklin School, in its elevated and prominent location, grand proportions,
and architectural characteristics, became at once one of the sites of the capital
city. General Francis A. Walker [a prominent educator ed.] said that whenever
he passed that noble American public school-house he turned to look and felt like
lifting his hat in token of respect; and even today, more than a quarter of a
century after its dedication, the intelligent guide in making the rounds of the
capital city to show to tourists its chief attractions, as he drives along Franklin
park halts and points with pride to the Franklin [S]chool.‖2
Unfortunately, framing the discussion about historic schools in strictly economic terms
1
Labbe, Theola S. “Legality of Deal to Turn Shelter Into Hotel Questioned.”Washington Post, June 10, 2006.
Proquest, www.proquest.com, retrieved April 8, 2008.
2
Wilson, 142.
1
is a great disservice to the citizens of Washington, D.C., who, lacking information about the
importance of historic buildings like the Franklin School, are denied the opportunity to
participate in discussions of their future. The lack of historic context and appropriate
procedures can lead to situations such as this one, reported in the Washington Post:
Preservationist Jerry Maronek has had to move quickly in his efforts to save a
classic, century-old school building in downtown Washington. Tipped off in late
December that a demolition permit was being sought for a school at 10th and H
streets NW, he and other D.C. Preservation League members rushed to prepare a
detailed landmark application in less than 48 hours. Maronek then raced
downtown on December 22 to file the papers before the demolition permit was
signed.3
The school in question, the Webster School (Figure 2) built in 1882, is a prime
example of the simple brick school once common in Washington, D.C. neighborhoods. It
served its immigrant community well and in the 1920s became a so-called Americanization
school where foreign born children were taught the English language, and American
geography and history to hasten their assimilation into American culture. None of this was
considered when the demolition permit was issued, but fortunately in this case the demolition
was halted and the school was nominated to the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites. This case
shows the challenges of dealing with historic schools in Washington, D.C. in general and the
ad-hoc nature of deliberations about the fate of buildings no longer needed for their intended
purpose. It often takes a crisis or impending demolition to mobilize the historic preservation
community (in this case the D.C. Preservation League) to act, and not always successfully.
3
Wheeler, Linda. “Group Wants Historic School Spared.” Washington Post, February 25, 1999. Proquest,
www.proquest.com, retrieved April 10, 2008.
2
Figure 1. The Franklin School, 1876.
Photograph by Alexander Gardner. Charles Sumner Museum and Archives.
The stated mission of District of Columbia Public Schools system (DCPS) is to
educate the children of the District of Columbia and manage its facilities to achieve this goal.
Management of surplus historic schools is clearly subordinate to its principal mission as the
public is generally not sympathetic to spending scarce funds to maintain old school buildings.
Enrollment in D.C. public schools has been decreasing for several decades putting pressure
on school budgets: few new schools have been built and old schools are suffering from
delayed maintenance. To deal with the increasing numbers of excess schools, the DCPS has
tried to consolidate its facilities by closing schools and consolidating its facilities.
3
Figure 2. Webster School.
Photograph by author, February 2008.
Two studies commissioned in 2006 by the DCPS, the Master Education Plan 4 and
the Facilities Master Plan5, attempted to deal with the dual problems of low performance and
excess capacity.
According to the Master Plan, the District of Columbia Public School system operates
147 schools with an average life of 63 years. Of these, 14 were built before 1910, 26 were
built between 1910 and 1929, and 35 between 1930 and 1949; all these schools are
potentially eligible for listing on the National Register. The Master Facilities Plan
recommends that 3 to 4 million square feet of school space be consolidated by the end of
2009 with 33 schools to be closed or integrated into other institutions. New schools are
4
5
DCPS 2006 Master Education Plan available at http://www.k12.dc.us/master.htm.
DCPS 2006 Master Facilities Plan available at http://www.k12.dc.us/facilities.htm.
4
projected to be built with modern facilities, replacing old schools that are slated for
demolition. The plan also proposes that some of the excess space be allocated to
administrative offices rather than sold to private entities. This decision was prompted by
public opposition to disposal of city property and the need for flexibility to allow buildings to
be used as schools again when the number of school children increases in the future.
However, the school system already has excess inventory that is currently unused and future
plans for consolidation also include substantial personnel cuts. The combination of additional
inventory and fewer administrative employees suggests that the school system will have to
maintain empty facilities, protect them from being vandalized, and allocate funds for
stabilization. If the past is any guide, this will be done reluctantly and only when the
condition of the building is threatened. While respecting the mission of DCPS and
understanding that historic preservation is a secondary concern, the public cannot afford to
see its heritage destroyed by institutional indifference and neglect. Washington, D.C. is not
only the capital of the United States, it is also one of the most important African American
cities in the nation. Washington’s African Americans were once the best educated in the
country and many became prominent professionals with Howard University at the center of
black intellectual life. Thurgood Marshall and Charles Houston who argued Brown v. Board
of Education at the United States Supreme Court were products of Washington’s segregated
public schools. The destruction of African American sites, including schools, amounts to a
repudiation of history.
The purpose of this report is to raise awareness of potentially irreplaceable losses and
to make recommendations about how the system can change to promote more transparency
and find better solutions. Historic schools are public resources, built with public funds for
5
public purposes. Therefore, their preservation should involve the participation of the public
and should not be the exclusive purview of the DCPS.
Methodology
This project germinated from a spreadsheet compiled by Mr. Hayden Wetzel and
disseminated to members of the D.C. Preservation League. The spreadsheet documented all
the public schools in Washington older than 50 years, their physical condition, ownership,
and current function. I surveyed and took pictures of about 30 to 40 of the most endangered
structures on the list and decided to use several for my case studies based on criteria of
historic and architectural significance. The actual research was conducted at the Sumner
Archives, the Library of Congress, and the University of Maryland libraries. The Annual
Reports of the Board of Trustees from 1850 and later were invaluable, as were the vertical
files at the Sumner archives. A binder containing the maintenance information for a majority
of public schools and when they were closed or transferred was also of great help. I also
researched the history of public schools in the United States and Washington and school
architecture in general. The Sumner Archives was also invaluable for the research of
individual schools and their history. The information so gathered helped me formulate my
conclusions and recommendations.
Organization
This document is organized in six chapters. The first chapter traces the history of public
school education in Washington, D.C. and the difficulty of African Americans to gain access
to quality education. The second chapter discusses the evolution of school architecture in
Washington, D.C. from simple frame buildings to the large schools of the 20th century. The
third chapter analyzes several cases of adaptive reuse of historic schools. The fourth chapter
6
discusses several vacant schools and their historic or architectural significance. The chapter
makes an implicit case for preservation and designation to the National Register or the D.C.
Inventory of Historic Sites. Chapter five analyzes the current municipal policies for disposing
of excess or surplus schools and their deficiencies. The final chapter draws conclusions and
makes recommendations about changing the regulatory system to avoid demolition by
neglect and encourage preservation.
7
Chapter 1: Brief History of Public Schools in Washington, D.C.
Schools for all; good enough for the richest, cheap enough for the
poorest.
Motto of the Board of Trustees under J. Ormond Wilson6
In 1805, just one year after Washington, D.C. got its charter, the City Council passed
a law “for the establishment and superintendence of schools.”7 Later in the same year, an act
establishing the administrative infrastructure for the school system and a board of elected
trustees was passed. As President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson was instrumental in
drafting the public education plan for the newly chartered City of Washington. Like all
founding fathers, Jefferson firmly believed that only an educated citizenry can preserve the
freedoms earned at great costs by the Revolution and while governor of Virginia, Thomas
Jefferson had introduced Bill 79 (1779) For the More General Diffusion of Knowledge,8 an
early ideal for universal public education. The bill called for free education for all children
for three years and scholarships for top students who could not afford further education. The
plan was never implemented and although defeated, Jefferson remained interested in
education and championed the City of Washington plan—he was a trustee and the first
president of the board, although he was unable to carry out his duties owing to his main
duties as President.
The source of funding for schools was an attempt at public finance, similar to the
experience of New England states: “taxes on slaves and dogs and of licenses for carriages
and hacks, ordinaries and taverns retailing wines and spirituous liquors, billiard tables,
6
Wilson, 136.
Ibid., 121.
8
Kinsman, 23.
7
8
theatrical and other amusements, hawkers and peddlers, as the trustees might decide to be
necessary for the education of the poor of the city, not to exceed the sum of $1,500 per
annum.” Funds were also solicited from charitable donations, of which Thomas Jefferson
was the largest contributor at $200.9
Initially, two one-room schools were established, and poor children attended for two
years free of charge learning reading, writing, arithmetic and the Bible. Black children were
not included in the legislation and had to wait until 1862 when slavery was abolished in the
District of Columbia. In 1811, the first Lancasterian school (Figure 3) was founded in
Washington, D.C. Started in England by Joseph Lancaster, the Lancasterian system
consisted of older students (called monitors) teaching a large group of younger students,
usually charity students; the monitors in turn were supervised by a principal. The
Figure 3. Old Lancasterian School
This is not the actual 1811 school but of the era. (Source: DCPS Photo Gallery, www.k12.dc.us)
9
Wilson., 122.
9
Lancasterian system was more efficient and less expensive and therefore less financially
taxing to a school system constantly in need of funds.10 The monitors kept order through a
system of rewards and punishment. The system survived well into the 19th century.
The ideal of free education confronted the harsh realities of trying to fund it. The early
plan to tax services and vices was supplanted by a lottery to benefit schools and later was
replaced by a tax on assessable property on the New England model. However, as the
population did not increase considerably, the tax was not sufficient to finance the public
schools and the scramble for funds continued. As late as 1846, the total number of students
in public schools (both paying and free) totaled 668.11
On April 16, 1862 slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia and the last
obstacle to educate black children was removed. By an act of Congress, public schools for
black children were finally established with a separate board of trustees that functioned
parallel to the board of trustees for white schools. An additional tax was levied to pay for
new schools but the huge influx of population brought by the Civil War left the system
unable to cope. In 1870, The Board of Trustees reported that 6,233 white children and 2,689
black children attended public schools compared to only 2,048 total in 1853.12 A special
levy was imposed to pay for new schools and funds were appropriated to acquire land and
build new schools.
Between 1871 and 1873 during the territorial form of government, the powerful Board
10
From the 1815 Board of Trustees Report: “ [T]he Treasurer has only $47 in his hands to meet all the current
demands for the support of the schools in the city, and many old accounts remain unpaid…Mr. Wallis, the late
teacher of the Eastern Free School, has taught one year and received only one quarter’s salary.” quoted by
Samuel At Lee, 13.
11
Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Public Schools to the City Councils, August 24, 1846, 23.
12
Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Public Schools from 1854 and 1870.
10
of Public Works and its architect, Adolf Cluss, embarked on an ambitious program of public
improvements that almost bankrupted the city. During this time many public buildings,
including modern public schools were built, streets were graded, and the city was beautified
with parks and trees. In 1874 Congress took over the debts and the financial affairs of the
city and abolished Home Rule. The school system underwent several reorganizations with
the black and white schools operating separately in a segregated system. Having its own
superintendent gave the black school system a lot of control over its own schools. The
independence of the black superintendent was curtailed in the early 1900s and culminated
with the Organic Act of 1906, when Congress again restructured the schools and sublimated
school authority to the Board of Education. The superintendents for white and African
American schools were consolidated under a single superintendent, with two assistant
superintendents in charge of the two systems. Many African Americans in the District were
disappointed by the change which they considered an infringement on their freedom to
control their own schools. School segregation lasted until 1954 when the Supreme Court
ruled in Bolling v. Sharpe that school segregation was unconstitutional. Washington public
schools started the long and tortuous process of school integration.
Despite integration, the Washington, D.C. public schools have been chronically
underfunded and underperforming. The crisis was severe enough that in 1995 the U.S.
Congress mandated a Financial Control Board to take over the public schools, a situation that
persisted until 2000. Only recently has the District of Columbia government made a
commitment to improve the schools and increase the quality of public education.
11
The Education of African American Children
The first school for free black children was opened in Washington by three freedmen as
it was against the law to teach enslaved people to read and write. No more than 25 or 30
private schools existed in the District before 1862.13 Some of the schools were founded by
northerners, the most notable of whom was Myrtilla Miner, a Quaker from New York state.
She opened her school in 1851 to prepare young black girls to become teachers; six of her
pupils went on to open schools of their own. There was a lot of opposition to Miner’s school
and she had to move several times to escape threats on her life. She barely escaped with her
life when in 1857 her house was set on fire. This was not the first time that protests erupted
against the schooling of black children. After the 1831 Nat Turner rebellion in Virginia,
black schoolhouses were demolished, books and furniture destroyed and it was only the
intervention of President Andrew Jackson that restored order.14
Slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia in 1862. It is estimated that 30,000 to
40,000 slaves, came to the District of Columbia to escape their conditions; most of these
refugees from the South had never had any schooling. In 1864 Congress mandated that the
same amount per capita be provided for the education of African Americans and white
children. Schools were funded by taxes on assessable property and a separate Board of
Trustees for black schools under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior was
appointed. Taxes collected, however, were not sufficient to support the black school system.
To redress the problem, Congress mandated the District of Columbia to allocate a portion of
13
14
Dodge, 3.
Ibid, 5.
12
all real estate taxes collected for the education of black children. There was a lot of
resistance to the change and ultimately Congress had to change the administrative system to
force the change.
The dual system—separate black and white school systems each reporting to a
superintendent— lasted through several administrative reorganizations. African Americans
felt that being under the supervision of the Department of the Interior allowed them
independence and control over the school system. Although supervision was transferred from
the Department of the Interior to the Board of Commissioners in 1874, the black school
system maintained its relative independence until the 1906 Organic Act when the
management of the schools was given to a Superintendent with two assistant superintendents
reporting to him: one for white schools and one for black schools. The African American
community was not happy with this change—they felt that the needs of the black schools
would be subordinate to the white schools and that equality of education would be even more
difficult to attain.
The history of public schools in Washington, D.C. followed the growth of the city itself
from a backward southern village to the capital of a powerful nation. The themes that are
weaved with this history are equal education for all (first for girls then for African
Americans) and the constant struggle with Congress to fund the city’s needs. As non-voting
citizens, Washingtonians received scant attention from Congress and constant meddling in its
affairs leaving residents feeling powerless and resentful.
13
Chapter 2: School Architecture in Washington, D.C.
No nobler field for effort exists for an architect than to design a public
school building.
The American School Board Journal, January 1926
In 1806, two schools, each one story high and measuring 50 feet long by 20 feet wide,
were erected in Washington. The Eastern Free School was located at Third and D streets
southwest and the Western Free School was located at 17th and I streets northwest. The two
schools were supplemented with schools held in basements of churches and one even
operated in Thomas Jefferson’s former stable at 14th and G streets northwest.15 Because of
slow population growth and insufficient funds for school construction classes continued to be
held in rented buildings where teachers, themselves barely out of school, taught all pupils in
one room. In 1812, Congress authorized lotteries to benefit a “school fund” that was used to
build and maintain schools in Washington, D.C. The system of selling lottery tickets to fund
schools was used until the 1880s with fourteen drawings held between 1812 and 1888.16
Mayor W.W. Seaton, who was elected in 1840, made public education a priority during
his administration. By the time he came to office, public education was held in low regard
because of its association with “pauper” or “charity” students as affluent students attended
private schools. It was evident that funding sources were insufficient for a quality public
education. Seaton proposed the New England system of taxing assessable property and the
abolition of tuition for wealthy students. It was not until 1858 that the charter of the city was
amended to allow levying of property taxes to finance public schools. Seaton also tried to
15
“Early Schools of District Had Precarious Existence”, The Washington Post, May 14, 1913. ProQuest,
www.proquest.com, retrieved 20 March 2008.
16
Wilson, 125.
14
pass reforms pioneered by the New England educator Horace Mann who advocated better
and more sanitary school buildings, state aid for schools, normal schools to train teachers,
and a centralized management system. Another contemporary reformer, the educator and
architect Henry Barnard, was influential in changing perceptions about school architecture
and learning. He associated good school construction, including proper ventilation and
heating, good lighting, large classrooms and comfortable desks, with a quality education.
Bernard’s book School Architecture, first published in 1838 and improved over the years,
was a pattern book, treatise on education, and how-to manual in one. It is of interest to note
that his linkage between superior school architecture and learning has remained part of the
discourse to this day.
The ideas of Mann and Barnard had a noticeable effect on Washington, D.C’s
administrators; the school system was divided into four districts in the 1850s with a
centralized Board of Trustees; one two-room school was erected in each of the four districts,
furniture and equipment were upgraded and grades were introduced. Congress, however,
was unwilling to provide funds for additional school construction despite repeated pleas from
the board of trustees. As late as 1857, classes were still held in church basements and rented
houses. In 1858 after years of unsuccessfully lobbying the federal government for funds, the
city amended its charter to tax real estate to support free public education. A portion of the
taxes was reserved to buy land and build new schools.
As the Civil War ravaged the country, construction continued on the United States
Capitol and new modern schools despite shortages of labor and materials.
The end of the Civil War began a new era in school construction. The public became
committed to public education and demanded better schools. In addition, the federal
15
government wanted to project its power and showcase Washington, D.C. as the capital of a
great Republic. The population of the District almost doubled from 1860 to 1870 owing to
an influx of freed slaves from the south as well as northerners. The need for services and
infrastructure became acute.
In 1862, an architectural and engineering firm was retained to develop plans for the
Wallach School, a new multi-class school that would occupy an entire square in the Capitol
Hill district (Figure 6). The choice of the firm was fortuitous. Adolf Cluss, a German
socialist was a firm believer in universal education, secular schools, and professional training
for teachers. Cluss was familiar with Barnard’s theories, but was inclined towards more
functional designs, industrial materials, and modern heating and ventilation. The Wallach
School was designed as a ten-room building with separate rooms for boys and girls, and a
large auditorium for community events. The school was dedicated on July 4, 1864 with great
fanfare and pomp. In 1870 Cluss was appointed Chief of Bureau of Buildings for the City of
Washington and from 1871 to 1874 he served as Inspector of Buildings on the powerful
Board of Public Works under Alexander “Boss” Shepherd during the territorial
government.17
Washington, D.C. had suffered greatly from the effects of the Civil War. An increase in
the District population from 75,080 in 1860 to 131,700 in 1870 (Appendix 1)—including
many Southern blacks—severely stressed municipal services. When the Civil War ended,
Washington’s infrastructure showed the ill effects of disinvestment and neglect from
Congress. Washington was such an embarrassment to Congress (not in small measure due to
its own failure to finance the city’s development) that as late as 1868 Congress was
17
Lessof and Mauch, 171
16
considering a motion to move the capital to a Midwestern city.18 Clearly, the city had to take
action to prevent this. Spending on infrastructure, public buildings and schools started
during the administration of Mayor Richard Wallach (1861-1868) and continued during the
territorial government under the stewardship of Alexander Shepherd who vowed to transform
Washington into a capital worthy of a newly reunited nation. As Inspector of Buildings,
Cluss put his imprimatur on the architecture of Washington, D.C. building schools, public
buildings, and infrastructure.19
The construction of the Franklin School in 1869 (Figure 1) reflected the new
commitment to public education in the city and the nation at large. Built on a prominent site
at 13th and K streets northwest near the White House, the Franklin School was to be the
flagship school of the new school system.
The Franklin School was a brick-masonry building comprised of three structurally
independent bays linked by stairs and corridors. Boys and girls were taught separately in the
end units which had separate entrances. The center bay was reserved for a library,
administrative offices, Office of the Superintendent, and the Board of Trustees. Cluss
created spacious classrooms with views of Franklin Park and used the best materials to create
a visually stunning structure. Borrowing from Mann and Barnard, Cluss understood that
learning is encouraged by beautiful surroundings, good ventilation, and no distractions from
the outside. J. Ormond Wilson, superintendent of the Washington public schools between
1870 and 1885, wrote:
18
I Bryan, Wilhelmus Bogart. “A History of the National Capital, Volume II: 1815-1878”. New York: The
Macmillan Company, 1916, pg. 567.
19
Some of Cluss’ buildings still standing include the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building on the National
Mall, Eastern Market on Capitol Hill, the Masonic Temple at F and 9th Street NW and Calvary Baptist Church
at 777 Eighth St NW.
17
It [the Franklin School] richly repaid its cost in lifting the public school system to its
proper place in the estimation of the public. The pernicious idea of charity schools
for poor children, on which the system was founded and which hitherto clung to its
seemingly insuperable tenacity, disappeared at once and forever.‖20
The Franklin School was so popular that enrollment outstripped the available space from
the beginning. In 1873 it housed the first normal school (in addition to regular school) to
train professional teachers.
Cluss went on to build six more schools in Washington, each built on modern principles
and adapted to its particular location. Generally, these schools were multiclass, aesthetically
designed to encourage learning, promote the idea of public school education for all, and
elevate the teaching profession.21 The six schools included:






William Seaton School (Figure 4), I Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets Northwest
(1871, demolished 1969);
William Cranch School, 12th and G Streets Southeast (1871, demolished);
Charles Sumner School, 17th and M Streets Northwest (1872, now the Sumner School
and Archives of the District of Columbia Public Schools);
Thomas Jefferson School (Figure 5), 524 Virginia Avenue, Southwest (1872, burned
in 1882, demolished 1860);
William Curtis School, Wisconsin Avenue and O Street Northwest (1875, demolished
1950); and
Joseph Henry School, 7th and P Streets Northwest (1880, demolished).
When the District of Columbia lost its home rule in 1874 all the school systems
(Washington City, Washington County, Georgetown and the black schools) merged under a
single board with both white and black members. However, as previously mentioned, the
black schools and white schools operated independently with separate superintendents.
20
21
Wilson, 143.
Lessoff and Mauch, 150.
18
Figure 4. Seaton School, 1876.
Source: DCPS Photo Gallery, www.k12.dc.us
Figure 5. Old Jefferson School, 1876
Source: DCPS Photo Gallery, www.k12.dc.us
19
Figure 6. The Wallach School, Seventh and D Streets SE, 1864
Source: Twentieth Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Public Schools of the City of Washington,
1865
The Organic Act of 1878 made the takeover of the District of Columbia by the federal
government permanent; the Act provided for a municipal system consisting of three
commissioners, with the Engineer Commissioner responsible for all public works and public
buildings. An Inspector of Buildings, under the supervision of the Engineer Commissioner,
was appointed to supervise the construction of municipal buildings. School building
progressed from the individualized designs of Adolf Cluss to a more generic and consistent
style that could be reused with minimal adaptations. The Office of Inspector of Buildings
prepared and supervised much of the new construction in the District of Columbia during this
20
decade. The schools were almost always built of brick in the Romanesque Revival style.22
Although simply designed with efficiency in mind, they often had a central pavilion topped
with towers with conical roofs and symmetrical identical wings. The exterior brick was
decorated with belt courses, string courses, molded brick, corbelling and stone trim around
the windows. The early schools built by the Inspector of Building office were four-rooms
structures with a cloakroom arranged around a hallway and a playroom. The growth in
population in the late 1880s and early 1890s required that larger schools be built. Eightroom, two-story schools became the norm and when a school could no longer accommodate
the neighborhood population, a new school was erected within a few blocks.
The eight-room school (Figure 7) was more complex in its construction: it had separate
entrances for boys and girls, four classrooms on each floors clustered around a center
hallway. As the population continued to grow and land became more expensive, larger
schools were built—twelve-, sixteen- and even twenty-room buildings.
By the turn of the nineteenth century, the red brick school building was ubiquitous, a
fixture in Washington, D.C. communities. Efficiency and modernity was, however, not
universally accepted. An editor with the Evening Star complained in 1897 that:
―[G]reat red brick boxes…are unattractive if not positively ugly, mere boxes of
brick without any pretentions of beauty.‖23
The Inspector of Buildings decided to open the process of school design to outside
architects under the supervision of the Office of Building Inspector. Several schools were
designed under this system, the Hayes School (discussed later in this paper) among them.
At the same time, school designs had to respond to specialization brought about by more
22
23
Lee, 24.
Evening Star, July 8, 1897, quoted by Lee, 26.
21
Figure 7. H.T. Blow School, a typical 8-room schoolhouse
First floor (bottom), second floor (top)
Source: 1908 Schoolhouse Commission.
22
diverse curricula and a larger audience: Americanization schools, vocational schools,
business education, sports facilities required new and innovative designs.
After the school system was reorganized in the early 1900s, private architects were hired
to design schools which accounts for the greater diversity of designs during this period.
Famous local architects, such as Appleton P. Clark, Robert Stead and Waddy B. Wood, left
their imprint on the neighborhood schools of Washington, D.C.
The passage of the 1906 Organic Act constituted a new era in school construction. In
addition to provisions establishing lines of authority, professional standards and
compensation for teachers, the act required the appointment of a commission to study all the
buildings in the school system. The commission’s findings and recommendations were
published in a comprehensive 1908 report entitled Report of the Schoolhouse Commission:
Upon a General Plan for the Consolidation of Public Schools In the District of Columbia.
The commission recommended the phasing out of four- and eight- room schools and
replacing them with 16- and 24-room schools—based on the New York, Boston and Chicago
model—as main types for primary and grammar schools. Other recommendations included
larger play areas and gymnasia, more vocational schools, and portable buildings (portables)
to accommodate surges in population growth. Ironically, the commission was in favor of
closing several old schools, Webster School (discussed in the Introduction) among them. 24
The commission also considered as a priority the appointment of a school architect to design
and supervise school construction. The Commission’s recommendations were not adopted in
their entirety. However, the recommendation for a school architect was embraced by
Congress which created the office of Municipal Architect in 1909 under the supervision of
24
Schoolhouse Commission, 5-7.
23
the Engineer Commissioner, one of the three commissioners appointed by Congress. School
construction followed the latest advances in building technology and became a specialized
field with its own journal, The American School Board Journal founded in 1891, which
disseminated issues related to all aspects of school building, management and maintenance.
The first chief of the Municipal Architect’s office was Snowden Ashford, a prolific
Washington architect, succeeded in 1921 by Albert L. Harris, also a prominent architect, who
served until 1934. These two architects dominated early 20th century school design in the
District of Columbia. Architectural styles ranged from Renaissance, to Elizabethan, to
Gothic and Colonial Revival.
Between 1910 and the end of World War I, Washington witnessed a surge in population
and a need for new and larger schools. The typical eight- and twelve-room school of the late
19th century morphed into the 16- and 20-room school. The mission of public education also
changed, requiring more practical and vocational skills, military training and the
accommodation of younger kindergarten children. Consequently, school architecture also
changed allowing for flexibility, public use of facilities and less rigid classroom space. The
need for new schools became critical, yet construction was limited by the labor and materials
shortages created by the war effort. The crisis led architects to create “flexible” buildings that
could be added on as the number of school-age children increased. Instead of building new
schools several blocks apart as was customary in the 19th century, annexes were appended to
old school buildings and portables became the norm. It is interesting to note that many 19th
century schools were preserved because of the need for space and shortage of materials
during this period.
In 1920, the United States Congress which still had jurisdiction over the affairs of
24
Washington, D.C. and its schools, formulated a plan (called the Five Year Building
Program), to replace the small, antiquated neighborhood schoolhouses with new larger
buildings.25 The purpose of the program was to “provide in the District of Columbia a
program of schoolhouse construction which shall exemplify the best in schoolhouse
planning, schoolhouse construction, and educational accommodations.”26 The program was
implemented by Albert T. Harris, who had taken over as Municipal Architect; the eight-room
design for schools was completely abandoned in favor of the 16- and 20- room school.
Harris favored the Colonial Revival style and many of the 27 schools built during this decade
use this style (Figure 8). The Colonial Revival style was thought to evoke the comforts of
home, remind people of their history, and impress laymen with its beauty.27
The economic Depression of the 1930s had a twofold impact on public projects in
Washington, D.C.: the administration of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal brought many
new residents to the District while at the same time public projects were halted or canceled
due to lack of funds. Public schools became overcrowded and any schools that had been
slated for demolition by the Five Year Plan were spared; portable buildings and swing shifts
were used to relieve overcrowding. World War II redirected public funds to the war effort
and again halted the planning and construction of new schools.
During this period, (1934 to 1946) Nathan C. Wyeth held the position of Municipal
Architect. A distinguished architect who had studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris in
the 1890s, Wyeth was responsible for building many public buildings both in public practice
and as a chief designer for the Architect of the Capitol. Despite the Depression and the war,
25
Lee, 36
Lee, 37.
27
Lee, 35 quoting Ernest Sibley, “Why I Prefer the Colonial Style,” School Board Journal, volume 66, January
1923, 66
26
25
new construction did not stop completely.28 Several junior high schools and additions were
built.
The period between the end of World War II and the landmark US Supreme Court
decision in Bolling v. Sharpe decision declaring segregation unconstitutional, the District of
Columbia registered its highest population—the 1950 census puts the population at 802,178.
Figure 8. The Hearst School, 3950 37th Street, NW, 1931.
Colonial Revival style preferred by Albert T. Harris. ( Photograph by author, February 2008).
From 1959 onward the population of Washington, D.C. continually decreased and only
recently has it begun to stabilize at around 572,000 according to the 2000 census.29
The decrease in population since the 1950s and continuing after the 1968 riots has put
many historic structures in jeopardy and schools are no exception. Faced with decreasing
28
Wyeth’s office designed the Municipal Building, Municipal Court, Police Court, Juvenile Court, Recorder of
Deeds building and several others.
29
D.C. Office of Planning, Census 2000, http://planning.dc.gov/planning/cwp/view,a,1282,q,569460.asp
26
enrollment and decaying older schools, the school system struggled with maintaining and
finding new uses for surplus school properties, a problem that continues to this day.
Beginning with the modest frame schools of the early 19th century, school architecture
evolved to respond to the needs of a growing population. The eight-room brick school was
found in every community, with white schools sometimes right next to black schools during
segregation. As neighborhoods grew, a new school was built a few blocks away. Children
walked to school, went home for lunch and their mothers waited for them when they got
home. When Washington’s population grew too large for the neighborhood schools, larger
and more specialized schools were built. The surviving historic schools are a reminder of the
past history of Washington, some painful, and should be treasured as much as the marble
monuments of the Federal City.
27
Chapter 3: Surplus Schools: Adaptive and Public Reuse
Buildings are among the most valuable records of a culture. If the play of
history is to be seen as continual change, then individual building provide
physical records—or at least significant clues—that can help us understand
something of those who came before us. In turn, what we do to a building will
help those who come after to understand us.
Hugh Howard, The Preservationist’s Progress, 1991
During the 1970s and 1980s the District of Columbia was burdened with too much
school capacity caused by a dwindling population. The municipal government was forced to
sell its surplus property or to close the unused facilities. During the 1990s, the budget crisis
grew so severe that Congress appointed a Financial Control Board to supervise the city’s
elected officials and take over the schools. One of the mandates of the Financial Control
Board was to dispose of surplus schools to raise money for school maintenance.
The number of sold and reused schools from the 1970s through the 1990s is difficult to
determine. In 1977, sixty five buildings were listed as surplus schools by the DCPS, 42 of
them with inadequate maintenance.30 In 2007, the D.C. Preservation League, an influential
preservation organization in Washington, D.C. compiled a list of public schools in
preparation for its Most Endangered Places 2008 nominations. The list consists of 165
schools built between 1869 and 1956; of these, 86 buildings are eligible for the D.C.
Inventory or Historic Sites with only 26 already nominated.31
The 1990s extensive campaign to dispose of surplus school buildings and other city
properties resulted in many successful instances of adaptive reuse. The District’s precarious
30
Shook, 24.
As this report was finalized, the D.C. Preservation League named the 2008 Most Endangered Places on May
13, 2008. Historic D.C. Public Schools as a collective resource were on the list. Available at
http://www.dcpreservation.org/endangered/2008/MEPProgramLowRez.pdf.
31
28
financial situation in previous decades had left many buildings in dilapidated condition—an
eyesore to communities already devastated by budget cuts. Not all residents were happy
with the sale of the schools. Since schools had been built with public funds, it was, they felt,
a disservice to the residents of the District to sell the schools for profit instead of using the
space for community activities or low income housing.
Case Study Methodology
The case studies in this chapter and the next were selected from, an unofficial list
obtained from Mr. Hayden Wetzel, chief archivist at the Sumner School Archives, who
prepared it on behalf of the D.C. Preservation League. After surveying about 35 properties,
the following criteria were considered for selection:



Adaptive reuses that maintained the integrity of the building and were well integrated
into the existing neighborhood fabric;
Buildings no longer used as public schools but still under the ownership of the DCPS
that have historic or architectural significance;
The choice of vacant or deteriorating buildings was based on the condition of the
building and its historic or architectural significance. Another important factor in the
selection was whether a reuse plan currently exists.
There are approximately 21 D.C.-owned buildings built between 1865 and 1930 that are
not occupied or are underused. An additional 25 buildings have been adaptively reused or are
used by the D.C. government for non-educational purposes.
Adaptive Reuse of Public Schools By the Private Sector
THE CARBERY SCHOOL
The Carbery School (Figure 9), located on 5th and D streets northeast, is one of the early
adaptive reuse projects of surplus schools on Capitol Hill. Built in 1887 by the Office of the
Building Inspector, it is similar to several other schools (such as the Giddings School) with
29
its recessed center pavilion and symmetrical bays topped by pediments.
The building functioned as a school until 1949 when the city turned it into a
warehouse.32 It was sold in the 1980s to developer Robert Herrema who divided it into 23
condominiums.
Figure 9. The Carbery School.
Photograph by author, March 2008.
THE PIERCE SCHOOL
The Franklin Pierce School (Figure 10) at 14th Street and Maryland Ave northeast was
built by the office of the Building Inspector and named in honor of President Franklin Pierce.
It was erected in 1894 for white students but became an African America school in the 1940s
because of changing demographics; it ceased operating as a school in the 1970s. The
32
Lee, 53.
30
school’s projecting central pavilion can be found in several other schools, but the octagonal
tower on the corner, taking advantage of the location, is unique. The school was a homeless
center until the late 1990s when the administration of Mayor Anthony Williams sold many
public surplus schools to developers. In 2004 it opened as a rental apartment building. The
new owner even reinstalled the roof on the corner tower which had been removed by the
District of Columbia.
Figure 10. Pierce School Condominiums.
Photograph by author, February 2008.
THE GIDDINGS SCHOOL
Joshua R. Giddings Elementary School (Figure 11), located on 3rd and G streets southeast on
Capitol Hill, was an eight-room school built in 1887 for African American children. It was
named after Congressman Giddings of Ohio was had spoken out passionately against slavery.
The school and its 1938 Colonial Revival addition (Figure 12) now houses the Results Gym.
31
Designed by the Office of the Building Inspector, the structure has a recessed central pavilion
and two bays topped by a pediment with a semicircular window.
The District Columbia sold the Giddings School and its annex in 1999. Results Gym
opened in 2001 after an extensive renovation that used historic tax credits to assist in funding
the project.
Figure 11. J.R. Giddings School, 1887 Wing.
Photograph by author, April 2008.
32
Figure 12. Giddings School, 1938 Colonial Revival addition.
Photograph by author, April 2008.
THE LENOX SCHOOL
A 2006 condominium conversion, the Lenox School (Figure 13) is located on 5th and G
streets southeast. It was built in 1887 as a white school within two blocks of the Giddings
black school. Designed by the Office of the Building Inspector, the school’s center
projecting pavilion with a tower is reminiscent of other schools, scattered around
Washington, such as the Madison School at 10th and G streets northeast built in 1889 (Figure
14) and now used as a homeless shelter. The Lenox School ceased to operate as a school in
1931. It was occupied until the 1990s by various non-profit organizations until it was sold
for development in the late 1990s.
33
Figure 13. Lenox School Condominiums.
Photograph by author, April 2008.
Figure 14. The Madison School.
Photograph by author, March 2008.
34
DENT SCHOOL
In some instances, old public schools have become private or charter schools as is the
case with the Capitol Hill Day School located in the old Dent School at 210 South Carolina
Avenue, SE. The Josiah Dent School (Figure 15) was built in 1901 in the Italian Renaissance
style, probably for white children. It operated as a school until 1947 when it was converted
into a warehouse and maintenance shop for the District of Columbia Public Schools. In
1980, the Capitol Hill Day School, a private school, leased the building. Declared a surplus
building in the 1990s, it was sold to the school as part of the ongoing program to dispose of
surplus schools. The Dent School underwent an extensive renovation after it was acquired.
Figure 15. The Dent School.
Photograph by author, April 2008.
35
Surplus Schools Used By the Public Sector
THE FRANKLIN SCHOOL
The Franklin School (Figure 16) and its innovative architecture was discussed in a
previous chapter. The school is a National Historic Landmark (interior and exterior) and had
been at the center of public education for almost a century when it ceased operation. From
its opening in 1869 to 1925 it served, in addition to being a school, as the headquarters of the
Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Trustees who were able observe how modern
pedagogical methods were applied. From 1873 to 1943 it housed the Normal School as well
as a grammar school for boys and girls. For several decades, the Franklin School was an
ideal for the modern school building, recognized throughout the world as a masterpiece of
school design.
Figure 16. The Franklin School.
Photograph by author, May 2008.
36
Unoccupied for over a decade or longer and without interior heating, the Franklin School
experienced interior deterioration such as falling plaster, rotting wood trim, and water
damage. Since 2002 it has been used as a homeless shelter while negotiations with
commercial developers are continuing. At a minimum, the District should make repairs and
provide heating and ventilation to stop further deterioration.
THE SUMNER SCHOOL
The Sumner School (Figure 17), designed by Adolf Cluss and completed in 1872, was
the first significant public school for black children. Located at 17th and M streets northwest
in what had been a traditionally African American neighborhood, it was intended as the black
counterpart to the Franklin School and as the headquarters of the Superintendent and
Figure 17. The Sumner School Museum and Archives.
Photograph by author, May 2008.
37
Board of Trustees of Colored Schools for Washington and Georgetown. Named for
Charles Sumner, a radical abolitionist senator from Massachusetts, the school was at the
forefront of educational advancement for black children. Cluss did not spare any expenses in
building the finest school for African American children. Vaguely Moorish, the building has
a central clock tower and is flanked by three bays on either side. The heavy brick cornice,
belt course, paired windows, highly decorated arches and an outstanding slate roof make this
building architecturally significant.
The very first class of high school students graduated from the Sumner School in the late
1870s. The high school was later moved to the M Street High School (later known as the
Perry School), itself succeeded by the Dunbar High School (thoughtlessly demolished in the
1990s). The Normal School for training black teachers also saw its beginnings at the Sumner
School, later to become Miner Teachers’ College. The beauty and functionality of the school
expressed contemporary hopes that schools for black and white children would be, if not
integrated, at least equal in quality.
The Sumner School continued to be used for educational purposes and as a health clinic
until the late 1970s when it was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places.
During the nomination process, the roof collapsed and the building was close to being
demolished. In partnership with a developer, the D.C. government developed the
surrounding property and re-opened the school in 1986 as a museum and repository for the
D.C. Public School system archives.33
33
Lee, 100.
38
THE PERRY SCHOOL
The former M Street High School (Figure 18) located at 128 M Street, NW holds a
special place in the history of African American education in the District of Columbia.
Completed in 1891, the M Street School was one of the first black high schools in the
country built with public funds. The demanding curriculum followed the precepts of W.E.B.
Dubois who advocated sending talented black men to elite colleges to train as doctors,
Figure 18. The Perry School.
Photograph by author, May 2008.
lawyers, and other professions. And many did; graduates became some of the nation’s most
prestigious doctors, lawyers, architects, businessmen and other elite professionals, cementing
the reputation of Washington, D.C. as the intellectual capital of black America. In 1915,
39
Figure 19. Old Dunbar High School, 1925.
Source: DCPS Photo Gallery, www.k12.dc.us/schools.htm
when enrollment exceeded the capacity of the school, a new high school, the Old Dunbar
High School (Figure 19), was built a few blocks away at First and O streets northwest. The
Old Dunbar School was demolished in 1977 to make room for the new Dunbar School.
Perry School is large brick school built in the Romanesque Revival style in a multi-part
construction (central projecting pavilion with a tower and recessed wings that connect to the
main wing with hyphens). It currently operates as a community center.
Conclusion
The reuses of public school—both private and public—discussed in this chapter
demonstrate the challenges of historic preservation in an environment of competing
priorities. When communities are indifferent or do not have the power to act, the economic
imperative prevails. For General Julius W. Becton, who was appointed Superintendent of
Schools by the Financial Control Board during the 1990s, the challenge was to keep the
schools open. Unaware of the history of the city’s public schools and eager to raise money to
40
fix roofs and boilers, General Becton was quick to dispose of schools that had been vacant
for years, sometimes decades. The African American community resisted the sale of schools
to private developers, but considered the quality of the public schools more important. A
condominium that reuses a historic black school is perhaps a poor choice, but so is the
complete destruction of the school through demolition. A community center such as the
Perry School is a much better use for a former school and helps retain a local function that
the school fulfilled. Successful or unsuccessful adaptations of old schools can teach a lesson
for the future and serve as a reminder that preservation means getting involved.
41
Chapter 4: Public Schools in Peril: Case Studies
Some of the schools that were not sold during the 1990s continued to languish and
deteriorate as the D.C. government prepared a new Facility Master Plan in 2000. The
municipal government was not always at fault: sometimes the residents fiercely fought
school closings and wanted the vacant spaces to be renovated for community uses such as
after-school programs.
THE BRUCE SCHOOL
The Bruce School (Figure 20) is located at 770 Kenyon Street NW at Sherman Avenue
in the Mount Pleasant section of northwest Washington.
Figure 20. The Bruce School.
Photograph by author, March 2008.
42
The Bruce School was erected in 1898 in what was then a wealthy, upper-middle class
suburb with a large black population. The eight-room school was designed by William M.
Poindexter, a prominent Washington architect in private practice working for the Office of
the Building Inspector. The school’s namesake, Blanche Kelso Bruce, born in slavery, was
the first black to serve a full term in the United States Senate during Reconstruction (18751881). A member of Washington, D.C.’s black aristocracy, he held other public offices
including Recorder of Deeds for Washington, D.C. Naming the school in Bruce’s honor
reflected the optimism of the time that African Americans could achieve a high status in
society through education.
The Bruce School was built of red brick in the Italian Renaissance style with a center
projecting pavilion flanked by two symmetrical wings. The center pavilion is decorated with
ionic columns supporting a stone lintel bearing the school’s name. Between 1921 and 1927
portables were used to relieve overcrowding at the school; in 1927 a major addition was built
doubling the area of the school.34 The school was closed in 1973 after the new BruceMonroe school was built and was returned to the District of Columbia government which
currently owns it.35
The school is dilapidated and shows the effects of delayed maintenance; costs of
rehabilitation can only increase as decay advances. Although it houses the City Wide
Learning Center, only a small portion of the building is currently used.
The Bruce-Monroe school at 3012 Georgia Avenue that replaced the original school
should serve as a warning to city planners and builders; the school, built in 1973, is itself
34
Vertical Files, Schools, Sumner Museum and Archives.
Property Owned or Under Jurisdiction of the District Government,
http://dcatlas.dcgis.dc.gov/opm/dcproperties.aspx, Retrieved 20 April, 2008.
35
43
now scheduled for demolition to be replaced with a new modern school. Its design followed
the 1970s open design plan which was thought to be conducive to learning. Such was not the
case and the open design was abandoned. However, Washington still has about twenty openplan schools that will probably be demolished in the future.
The fate of the Bruce School is still uncertain. Its physical state will not be helped by
further delays in maintenance which will become costlier with the passage of time.
THE HAYES SCHOOL
Although the Hayes School (Figure 21), located at 5th and K streets northeast, is listed on
the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites, its poor condition demonstrates the challenges that the
Figure 21. The Hayes School.
Photograph by author, February, 2008.
44
Figure 22. Hayes School, Torch of Knowledge
Photograph by author, May 2008.
Figure 23. Hayes School, Open Book
Photograph by author, May 2008.
45
District of Columbia faces in its preservation efforts. The eight-room Hayes School was
named after President Rutherford B. Hayes and is one of the earliest examples of school
designs by architects in private practice (1897) and therefore architecturally significant.
Responding to criticism about the uniformity of the Romanesque Revival school design, the
Office of the Building Inspector hired private architectural firms to diversify its buildings.
The school was erected for white students but was transferred to the black schools system in
1947. Hayes School was built in the Italianate style with ornamentation descriptive of its
function, such as torches of knowledge below the roof in the main recessed area (Figure 22),
and an open book in the window arches (Figure 23). The two Italianate towers were once
capped with belfries covered with tile roofs; their fate is not known.36
The school closed in 1970 and became an administrative annex. During the 1980s it was
used by the Museum of the City of Washington. The building was vacated in 1990 and has
remained vacant since.37
In 2003, the D.C. Preservation League (DCPL), an influential preservation organization,
listed the Hayes Schools as one of the Ten Most Endangered Places for 2003.38 The D.C.
Department of Aging has plans to convert the schools to a senior center but the preservation
community has so far opposed the changes to the building as not sensitive to its historic
character. Unfortunately, the delay has further exposed the building to vandalism and decay.
THADDEUS STEVENS SCHOOL
The Stevens School (Figure 24) is located at 21st and K streets northwest in the Foggy
Bottom neighborhood (also known as the West End). It is significant for its association with
36
Lee, 51.
Directive from the Office of the Superintendent, Sumner School and Archives, Vertical Files, Schools.
38
D.C Preservation League, http://www.dcpreservation.org/endangered/2003/hayes.html, accessed 20 April
2008.
37
46
African American history in the 19th century. Although it currently operates as an
elementary school it is scheduled to close in late 2008. Dating to 1868, it is the oldest
surviving black public school built with public funds in the District of Columbia. As such, it
is of enormous importance to the African American community that traditionally inhabited
the area, formerly the center of light industry in Washington. The Potomac docks, the
breweries, glass works, and the lime kilns attracted African Americans as well as poor Irish
and German immigrants who lived in modest two-story rowhouses. The Stevens School is
one of the last remnants of this period in the gentrified area of Foggy Bottom.
Figure 24. Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School.
Photograph by author, May 2008.
47
The current building structure is the result of the 1897 renovation that added the central
projecting section. The hyphens with the mansard roof are most likely original.39
The Stevens School has been scheduled for closing since the 1990s and it is again
scheduled to close in late 2008. Parents have successfully opposed the closing until now, but
its low enrollment has finally doomed it. There are no plans for its future but the school sits
on prime real estate and the African American community fears that it will be torn down to
make room for office space. Colbert I. King, a Washington Post columnist and fifth
generation Washingtonian wrote in his column about the closing of Stevens School:
The issue for me—then [during the 1990s ed.] and now—is how the city handles
landmarks such as the Stevens. For scores of Washingtonians, that 140-year old
building has as much meaning and value as some of the historic structures on the
Mall.
I have seen what happens when people who call the shots have little regard for
history.40
THE OLD CONGRESS H EIGHTS SCHOOL
The Old Congress Heights School is located in the Anacostia section of Washington,
D.C. at 600 Alabama Avenue, SE at Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue. It is a large structure
(over 100,000 sq.ft), occupying an entire city block.41 It is significant as one of the first largescale school buildings in the District of Columbia and for its distinctive Snowden Ashford
architecture. The original school (Figure 26, center) was built in 1897 as an eight-room
white school by the Office of the Building Inspector in the wealthy area of Anacostia. As the
neighborhood grew and the need for additional space developed, Municipal Architect
Snowden Ashford redesigned the entire structure leaving the plan open for future expansion.
39
Lee, 97.
King, Colbert I. “A Building that Speaks to Us.” Washington Post, May 10, 2008.
41
Lee, 60.
40
48
The front façade (Figure 25) faces Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and is in the Elizabethan
Figure 25. Old Congress Heights School.
Photograph by author, February 2008.
style with a clock tower (the clock has been removed) and crenellated towers. The classroom
wing (Figure 26, visible in the back) was added later, date unknown. The façade on the 1897
original block was refaced during the 1913 renovation to match the rest of the addition. Six
classrooms were added in 1931 matching the original 1913 design.42
The school most likely ceased operation in 1970 when the new Martin Luther King, Jr.
Elementary School was built directly across Alabama Avenue. In 1998 it was declared
42
Letter from Eva Trusheim, Adm. Principal to Boise L. Bristor, Statistician, Public Schools of the District of
Columbia, April 24, 1945. Sumner Archives, Vertical Files, Schools.
49
surplus property by the Financial Control Board and several developers made presentations
to the community to gain support for development but the building remained unoccupied.
The District of Columbia is currently soliciting offers for the reuse of the building with the
requirement that any development preserve the historic character of the building. Approved
uses include:43

Recreation, park or landscaped open space for the use and enjoyment of
neighborhood residents;


Job-training or vocational education programs;
Space for community meetings and activities or a community center (specifically in
the auditorium); and
New neighborhood-serving retail and office development.

Figure 26. Old Congress Heights School 1897 block
Photograph by author, February 2008.
43
District of Columbia Government, Office of Property Management
http://opm.dc.gov/opm/frames.asp?doc=/opm/lib/opm/pdf/Old_Congress_Heights_School_SolicitationFinal.pdf, retrieved 22 April 2008.
50
The situation is complicated by the proximity of Old Congress Heights School to the
historic St. Elizabeth’s Hospital campus which is being considered for relocation of certain
US government offices.
THE ARMSTRONG MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL
Located at First and O streets northwest, the Armstrong School (Figure 28) was built by
the well-known Washington architect Waddy B. Wood. It is one of several black schools in
the area built for black children in the neighborhood, such as the Slater School (Figure 29)
and the Langston School (Figure 30) both at P and First streets northwest. The Langston
School was built to handle the overflow from the Slater School. Both schools are currently
vacant awaiting disposition by the DCPS.
The Armstrong School, listed both on the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites and the
National Register of Historic Places, was built in 1902 of cream-colored brick in the
Renaissance Revival style. It has a symmetrical shape with a central projecting pavilion and
recessed end sections. There are two entrances each topped with an elaborate pediment
(Figure 27). Additions built between 1924 and 1927 doubled the size of the building. The
building has been vacant since 1996.
The Armstrong Manual Training School followed the teachings of Booker T.
Washington who argued that vocational, business and manual training could lift African
Americans and bring progress and racial acceptance. His teachings were in contrast to the
views held by some of the many African Americans in the District of Columbia who,
adhering to the teachings of W.E.B. DuBois, believed that industrial training would only help
to prolong segregation by preventing talented blacks from going to universities and elevating
their status. A controversy erupted when the white superintendent of schools tried to
51
downgrade the curriculum at the M Street High School where black students
Figure 27. Armstrong School, detail of pediment
Photograph by author, May 2008.
Figure 28. Samuel H. Armstrong School, c. 1910.
Source: DCPS Photo Gallery, www.k12.dc.us/
52
studied liberal arts and classics in preparation for college. Many M Street High School
graduates went on to elite universities in the north, including Harvard, Yale and Dartmouth.44
The dispute raged for many years after the Armstrong school opened and divided the African
American community into different camps.
The Armstrong Manual Training School had many illustrious alumni and was
instrumental in developing an architectural preparatory program that trained many African
American architects in Washington. Alumni were also involved in local and national politics
and served as mentors to generations of students. The school’s significance in the education
of African Americans makes the preservation of this school a priority.
Conclusion
The cases outlined in this chapter demonstrate the abdication of leadership by the
municipal government and the D.C Public School System in particular. No city remains
vibrant without its history and the public schools are public resources that must be
safeguarded irrespective of the ups and downs of the economy. These collective resources
cannot be sacrificed by the inertia and indifference of public officials. Columnist Colbert I.
King expresses why the past is important:
There are some things in life that once gone you can never get back. Our
physical heritage is such a thing. Those structures [schools ed.], snickered at by
some as irrelevant to the moment, should be sources of pride and should be left
standing as symbols of past achievement. They tell us something about who we
once were and teach lessons our children should never forget.45
44
45
Pielmeier, 29.
King, Colbert I. “A Building that Speaks to Us.” Washington Post, May 10, 2008.
53
Figure 29. The Slater School, 1891.
Figure 30. The Langston School, 1902.
Both photographs by author, February 2008.
54
Chapter 5: Current Disposition Procedures
‖The decisions about modernization and replacement of schools will change the
face of the District for generations. While many of the considerations are
technical, the decision-making process associated with the planning and design
of the public schools is political. This does not mean, however, that it cannot be
thoughtful and well-informed.
Replace or Modernize, 200146
Public policy for disposition of surplus schools is geared toward reuse, leasing and sale
rather than providing for the preservation, maintenance and sensitive adaptive re-use. The
success stories outlined in chapter three are more the result of the commitment of developers
to historic preservation than guidelines from the District of Columbia (the adaptive reuse of
the Bryan School at 1315 Independence Avenue, SE is an excellent example of a developer
committed to historic preservation).
According to current regulations, the Superintendent of Schools recommends the
phasing out of schools to the Board of Education which has ultimate decision-making power
following special community meetings held to receive comments and input from the public.
The building(s) remain under the jurisdiction of the Board of Education until no longer
needed for “educational purposes.”47 However, the school system may retain control of a
building if future educational uses are envisioned. During this time, the Board of Education
has to allocate funds for the maintenance of the building(s). The allowance for future use
which allows the school system to delay the transfer of the property to the Office of Property
Management results in either (a) scarce funds being used for school maintenance or (b)
neglect of the facility due to lack of funds. Once the schools have been transferred to the
46
47
21st Century School Fund, Section 1, p. 2.
D.C. Municipal Regulation, Title 5 Section 3612.
55
Office of Property Management (OPM), decisions about further actions are vested in the
Office of the Mayor.
The system of school closings provides for extensive public hearings. While it is very
important to get the community’s input into government action, school closings can be
traumatic for communities which can perceive the closings as a loss of prestige or cause them
to worry about the disruption of sending children to a new school.48 The D.C School Reform
Act of 1995 states that the priority should be given to charter schools when public school
buildings are decommissioned. Day care and community centers and educational
organizations are also given preference. Charter schools have been avidly pursuing surplus
schools for their students. As the number of charter schools has increased in the District of
Columbia, surplus school space has been allocated to them. However, in several instances
the District of Columbia government has rescinded offers to charter schools after the affected
communities raised objections that charter schools would draw students away from the public
school system and further degrade the quality of public education. In February 2000, five
schools were offered to charter schools (Keene Elementary School, Addison School in
Georgetown, Bruce School in Mount Pleasant, Bundy School, and the Reno School).49
However, in 2001 the Mayor reconsidered the decision and discussed returning the schools to
the public system or using them for municipal offices.50
It is clear that the system of surplus school disposition is in need of reform. The Bruce
School, which was discussed in the previous chapter is still vacant, and continuing to
48
District of Columbia Public Schools, Master Facilities Plan Community Forums, Summary of Planning Area
Meetings, September 2006.
49
Letter to Mayor Anthony Williams from Malcom E. Peabody, Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS),
May 14, 2002. Vertical Files, Sumner Schools and Archives.
50 “Mayor Illegally Blocks Schoolhouse Door”. The Washington Times, September 18, 2002.
56
deteriorate despite the fact that a charter school could take it over and perform needed
maintenance. In the case of the Bundy School, the city government decided to turn it into a
center for abused and neglected children. Some organizations promoting charter schools have
accused the DCPS of holding back on turning properties over to charter schools to protect
their monopoly over the school system.51 Whether this is a valid criticism is open to
interpretation; however, the fact that charter schools are in dire need of space—while the
DCPS and the city government debate the use of its excess properties—is real.
The lines of authority in the disposition of surplus schools are blurred: although the
Board of Education should immediately dispose of excess schools, it continues to retain
control for future use. Although the Mayor has final jurisdiction over District-owned
property including surplus schools, the continued control over properties by the school
system invalidates the Mayor’s authority. This amounts to “demolition by neglect” as
various agencies fight over control.
Current Facilities Master Plan
Twenty three schools have been selected for closing or replacement in the Master
Facilities Plan with a total building space of 4 million square feet and over 75 acres of
developable land.52 Of the 23 schools approved for closing, two were built before 1900 and
nine date from the 1920s and 1930s. It is ironic to note that one of the schools slated for
demolition, the Hine School, (Figure 31) replaced the historically significant Wallach School
razed in 1949. Unlike several of the schools proposed for closing, the Hine School was
51
Downtown Shelter To Be Reopened: Advocates for Homeless Hail Decision”, By Theola S. Labbe, The
Washington Post, January 6, 2005. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50209-2005Jan5.html,
retrieved 23 April 2008.
52
Master Facilities Plan, Section C, “Schools as Centers of the Community, p. C28-C32.
57
completely out of proportion with the neighboring rowhouse style and overpowered it.
The projected savings from the closings are $23 million a year. The Office of the
Mayor is supervising the sale and reassignment of excess schools. The Mayor is focusing
efforts on freeing scarce space for development; other agencies are more focused on reusing
the buildings for educational and community uses.53
Figure 31. Hine Junior High School, 1965.
Built on the site of the demolished Wallach School (Photograph by author, April 2008)
While the city government is considering its options, challenges are easy to envision.
Historic preservation regulations will delay many actions; the location of schools in
residential neighborhoods will require zoning changes for any adaptive reuse other than
residences; the community would also fight additional traffic and parking requirements that a
public building will require; complex procedures for approving any new building or
renovation of historic building will be costly to a for-profit developer.
53
“School Closings in D.C. Put Prime Spots in Play”. Washington Business Journal, December 10, 2007.
58
It is too easy to be pessimistic on the future of surplus schools. However, Washington,
D.C. has inherent advantages that no other city in the nation has. Although is cannot grow
physically and is therefore limited in its geography, it can grow in stature and population.
There are many organizations that will need a footprint in the capital and proximity to the US
government and can absorb the inventory of surplus buildings. Awareness, public
involvement, and innovative solutions are essential to ensuring the viability of the city’s
heritage.
59
Chapter 6: Conclusions and Recommendations
―If an older building can be equated with poor education, why would anyone
want to send a child to an Ivy League School?‖
Residents of Two Rivers Wisconsin protesting the razing of a historic school54
The residents of Washington, D.C., African Americans in particular, are used to being
treated dismissively by the federal government and their own elected officials. During the
urban renewal of the 1950s, Congress sent its benevolent reformers to demolish large swaths
of Southwest Washington in the name of progress. Urban renewal was renamed “Negro
Renewal” by the community. The West End had a similar fate: entire communities of
extended families, small homes, shops and churches were removed as the area was gentrified.
The city government was not blameless either: school administrators paid many times the
going rate for roof repairs with contracts going to preferred contractors.55 So perhaps the
apathy of Washingtonians regarding their historic heritage is understandable. But historic
resources are not renewable and their destruction affects the quality of life for all residents.
Recommendations
REVISE POLICIES FOR OWNERSHIP OF CLOSED SCHOOLS
The decision to close a particular school is a long and arduous process with many
participants. However, once a decision has been made, ownership of the school should be
transferred to the Mayor’s office for permanent disposition. If the DCPS chooses to retain
ownership for future use, it should justify its demographic projections. Funds should also be
allocated in the budget for maintenance for as long as it foresees its ownership of the building
54
Quoted in Beaumont, 8.
Statement by Julius W. Becton, Jr., CEO and Superintendent, D.C. Public Schools before the Senate
Committee on Labor and Human Resources, January 14, 1998
55
60
in order to avoid “demolition by neglect.”
ENGAGE THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
African Americans have been very vocal in demanding better schools but not in
preserving historic sites. Their history and past matters and should not be allowed to
disappear. However, African Americans have to be actors in the historic preservation
movement, not spectators.
SURVEY, DOCUMENT, AND INVENTORY ALL STRUCTURES
A complete survey of all public schools older than fifty years, their physical condition,
historic association, and current use should be completed immediately in view of the school
closings and consolidations that are being contemplated. The last survey was completed in
the early 1980s.
NOMINATE ELIGIBLE BUILDINGS
Only a fraction of eligible buildings have been nominated to the National Register of
Historic Places and the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites. According to the records of the
Sumner Archives, a collective nomination for all the pre-1945 public schools has been filed,
but few individual nominations. The Phase I and Phase II surveys completed for the National
Register nomination can form the basis for individual nominations.
INSTALL HISTORIC MARKERS AND SIGNS
Many of the old schools that have been reused have no markers or signs describing their
history and role in the community. Such identification raises awareness and provides
context when the reuse of vacant schools is discussed.
DEVELOPERS ARE NOT THE ENEMY
Many preservationists are suspicious of developers, often with cause. However,
61
developers have discovered that old schools were built with superior materials and beautiful
craftsmanship than are successfully marketed to the public. As previously mentioned, the
Sumner Archives would not exist if developers did not renovate it in exchange for
developing an adjoining parcel of land.
The above recommendations would go a long way toward enhancing the public’s
appreciation for the city’s historic schools and simplify the process of transfer once the
schools are no longer needed. The Master Plan promises to preserve the public school as the
center of the community. The city has to carry out this promise and be responsive to all the
needs of the community: education as well as preservation.
62
Appendices
APPENDIX 1. Population Table for the District of Columbia, 1800 to 1990. Source: United States Census
Bureau, http://www.census.gov/population/documentation/twps0056/tab23.pdf. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
63
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